Mabel.
Robert Brackley. Don't you know him?
Basil.
The poet?
Mabel.
Of course. They say he'd have been given the Laureateship if it hadn't been abolished at Tennyson's death.
Basil.
[Tightening his lips.] He's rather a low blackguard, isn't he?
Mabel.
Heavens, what's the matter with him, poor man? He's Hilda's latest celebrity. He pretends to adore her.